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Haier air conditioner first home appliance to get Apple MFi tick of approval

By Nick Lavars
January 13, 2014
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Haier's Tianzun air conditioner is the first white good to gain Apple's MFi certification
Haier is building an industrial architecture of "One cloud and N terminals," which it believes would see all home appliances become internet terminals
Expansion of Apple's MFi program to include larger non-Apple devices could potentially lay a foundation for iOS control of other household appliances
Haier's Tianzun air conditioner is the first white good to gain Apple's MFi certification
The air conditioner is controlled by a companion app
Haier already anticipating the certification of products such as water heaters and ovens
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Signalling that Apple's Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad (MFi) certification may be set to play a bigger role in ushering in the "Internet of Things," Chinese manufacturer Haier has unveiled the first white good to be certified by the MFi program, a smart air conditioner.

Showcased at CES last week, Haier's Tianzun air conditioner connects to the user's iOS device automatically, enabling them to control the air conditioner via a companion app without going through a laborious password setup or registration process.

MFi certification has typically been an Apple seal of approval for third-party accessories, such as docks, connectors, chargers and game controllers, so the program's expanson to include larger household appliances marks a significant step.

Haier is already anticipating the certification of other products, such as water heaters and ovens. This forms a part of the company's wider ambition in building an industrial architecture of "One cloud and N terminals," which it believes would see all home appliances become internet terminals and fulfill its vision for the smart home.

Source: Haier

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Around The HomeAppleSmartAir ConditionersAppliancesHomeHaierInternet of Things
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Nick Lavars
Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.
5 comments
Satweavers
Ahhh... Haier!!! I bought a Haier LCD TV for my dad a few years ago and discovered after much frustration that Haier's four digit programming code was not compatable with any electronic device in North America. Their tech support informed me that I couldn't program the TV to accept commands from the cable remote. My 88 year old Dad had to use two remotes which was a constant torment for him. Haier made quite an impression on me.
bergamot69
My worry with all the items made for compatibility with one type of mobile phone operating system or other is that of inbuilt obsolescence- phones, and even their makers, come and go on the whim of the consumer, leaving the possibility of having equipment that relies on a drawer full of 'old technology' smartphones to operate them long after they have gone the way of the dodo.
thk
So Haier's latest offering is like Nest's and more. Home automation with Apple's MFI internet of things technology that will take care of the need to hav two or more remotes.
acyron
I prefer mechanical as much as possible, they can be repaired.. This electronic everything is obsolete by he time you get it and can't be repaired when you need it. They keep trying to reinvent the wheel.
Gregg Eshelman
I have a Haier air conditioner with a temperature display that's many degrees off what the room temp is in the summer, so I have to have it set at 65F to keep the room around 71F.
At least it has a remote and it does keep the room cool.
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